Let's Rocket 'Til We Learn To Love
by creaturebelowthedeck
Summary: Set after Guardians of the Galaxy. Series of one-shots involving various characters. Mostly Rocket-centered.
1. Lucky

**Hey guys! I'm starting another Guardians of the Galaxy fanfiction! This is just going to be a series of one-shots that focus on various characters of the team, but is Rocket-centric. Chapters will be sporadic and I'll post a new one when ideas pop into my head. **

**Enjoy!**

Peter Quill thought he was alone in his quarters on the day of his mother's birthday.

Like everyone else who lived on Terra, or as he liked to call it, Earth, his mother had a birthday, and he would silently celebrate it every year. He knew the date by heart, but never knew if that particular day was the current date back on Earth. He had to estimate, and hope that he was close.  
However, 'celebrate' was not an accurate word to describe what Peter felt every time he 'celebrated' his mother's birthday. He would lock himself away in his quarters, put the Awesome Mix Vol. 1 tape into his Walkman, and let it play until he started crying.  
The tears would come slow at first, but after a while they would be pouring freely down his face, forcing him to wipe them away with his jacket sleeve and hope that no one would see the red in his eyes when he finally unlocked the door.

Peter Quill thought he was alone. Except he wasn't.

"Whaddaya cryin' about, Star-Dork?"

Peter jumped and tore off the headphones, feeling his face turn red from embarrassment.

"Rocket?"

The cyborg raccoon stepped out from behind his bed holding a metal contraption in his small hands. Rocket had been in his room the entire time, searching for parts of the ship to add to his newest weapon.  
"Yeah, ya big baby. Quit with the waterworks. It's weird seein' ya cry."

Peter turned his Walkman off and set it down on the bed. Rocket made himself comfortable on the floor and tinkered with whatever he had torn off of Peter's ship. A few awkward moments of silence passed as Rocket messed with his device and Peter stared off into nothingness.

"… It's my mother's birthday today."

Rocket grunted in response, but his movements slowed as he listened. Peter was getting onto a touchy subject, which meant that there was _definitely _something going on.

"I don't know for sure exactly," he continued quietly, "but I'm pretty sure it's the fourth of May on Terra."

Rocket stopped what he was doing altogether and lowered the device into his lap, looking up at Peter. "So this is what you do?"

Peter looked down at Rocket on the floor with a questionable look in his teary eyes.

"… W-What?"

Rocket slowly stood up, letting the device fall to the floor.  
"You sit here an' _cry_?"

Peter creased his eyebrows in slight anger that Rocket would ask such a question. He held up his Walkman.  
"Rocket, my mother, she's … Look, this is all I have left of her. This, and her birthday. I don't think throwing a party would be a good way to go about it."

Another few silent moments passed between the two. Peter put his headphones back on and pressed play. Rocket didn't continue on his contraption. Instead, he stared long and hard at Peter, who was once again staring into nothingness.

Rocket sighed and began to unzip his orange jumpsuit, and it wasn't until the zipper was halfway down when Peter suddenly looked up in both confusion and shock at the raccoon. He took off his headphones once again as Rocket pulled the jumpsuit down to what Peter assumed was his waist and climbed up onto the bed that he was currently sitting on.  
His bare back was exposed, and Peter stared softly at the cybernetic implants that littered the raccoon's back. He wanted to look away, but not because it looked painful or gross; it felt like he was wronging Rocket to stare at his mutilated back, even though Rocket was openly showing him.

"They'd … Sometimes, they'd stick wires in, an' mess with … Iunno, whatever they _wanted _to mess with."

Peter wasn't sure if he should look away to show Rocket respect, or keep looking so he wouldn't offend him. Before he could stop himself, he blurted out the only thing that he could think of.

"Do they hurt?"

Rocket didn't answer for a while. He just sat there, staring straight ahead, although Peter couldn't see his face. Peter was about to take it back; he wanted to tell him to ignore the last question, that it was rude and he should have never asked. But then Rocket spoke.

"… Not anymore."

Peter slowly reached out and gently touched one of the metal implants, causing Rocket to visibly stiffen, but he didn't pull away or attack.

"I'd say you're lucky."

Peter slowly retracted his hand as Rocket began to pull his jumpsuit back up.

"Why? Because I wasn't … y'know…?"

Rocket finished pulling the zipper back up and turned around to face Peter, picking up his Walkman and inspecting it.

"No. You've got _this. _You've got… this weird little device-thing. That plays music. And you actually _like _it. Me? I've got all that shit on my back. I hate it."

Peter suddenly understood what Rocket was trying to say. Both he and Rocket had some sort of token from their past and origins.  
While Peter had his Walkman, a gift from his mother, Rocket had cybernetics, which was something he never asked for. Peter realized that he really _was _luckier than most. He should be celebrating with his friends, not crying to himself alone in his room. His mother would have liked it better that way.

Peter looked down to look into Rocket's brown eyes and gave him a small, thankful smile.

"… Thanks, I guess."

Rocket gave him a small smile back, and then immediately reverted back to the loud, gruff raccoon he had learned to love.

"Yeah, yeah. Just quit yer cryin' and get outta this room. Ya gotta set examples for this weird-ass team, even though your examples suck balls."

Peter chuckled and complied with Rocket's 'request', and followed the ranting raccoon out of the room and into the common area of the _Milano. _

The Walkman continued to play the soft lyrics of 'Fooled Around And Fell In Love' on Peter's bed.


	2. Mushy Gushy? Ew

**Another chapter, yay! This one is a little Peter/Rocket, so if you don't like, don't read! I actually made this story a while back, but didn't want to make it its own story, so I'm putting it into this series of one-shots.  
I promise, there will be other stories involving other characters, not just Rocket and Peter. Until then, enjoy! **

"I don't get it. That's just gross."

Peter stepped into the room that Rocket was sitting in. He noticed his furry friend was reading a book of some sort, and upon closer inspection, realized it was a romance novel. Peter snorted and tried to hold back a laugh, but it came out as a snicker, which made Rocket look up at him aggressively.

"What's _your_ problem?"

Peter pointed at the book Rocket was reading and laughed again.

"I didn't take you for the romantic type, that's all."

Rocket glared up at him.

"I read it 'cause I find it funny how humans get so close to each other without thinking it's gross."

The taller one took a seat next to Rocket, who scooted over a little more than necessary. Peter took a small glimpse at what the raccoon was reading, and saw something about hugging, some touching words, and a kiss.

"Hugging and kissing? _That's _what you're getting all worked up about?"

Rocket grunted and threw the book aside, and then crossed his arms.

"It's normal for you humans. I don't see why everyone thinks it's so damn romantic."

Peter shrugged.

"Iunno why _you _think it's so gross."

Rocket clenched his fists tightly and was about to retort, but his eyes widened instantly and his jaw dropped when he felt something briefly touch his furred cheek. Any comment he was about to make was stuck in his throat.

Peter then stood up and silently walked away back into the room he had come from.

Rocket could only sit there. He couldn't think or speak, and he inhaled slowly when he realized that he wasn't breathing. Peter had just _kissed _him on the cheek. _He kissed him. _

"… Wh—wh—What the _flark_ was that for, you flarking hairless idiot?! Why the _hell_ did you just flarking _kiss me_?!

Peter smirked and ignored Rocket. He'd been through that reaction before. It only happened when he refused to admit something, which meant…

Rocket enjoyed that kiss.


	3. Lullaby

**Another chapter! I don't know how good or bad this one is, but I wanted to do one with Gamora, and this is the first thing that popped into my head. Hope you like it! **

"Flarkin' idiots…"

Gamora sat up, causing the sheets around her vibrant green body to shuffle with the movement. She didn't make a sound or move after that; she just sat and listened. At first, she heard nothing. But then, seconds later, she heard Rocket speak again.

"… Get your flarkin' hands offa me…"

The corners of her mouth curled up into a tiny, almost non-existent smile. Even when Rocket was dreaming, he was still gruff and angry.

"… Please… Let me go…"

Her smile immediately dropped when she heard his angry tone of voice suddenly reduced to a scared and desperate whimper. He was back _there_ again, she realized, and slowly stood up. Making her way down the hall of the Milano and into the room where Rocket slept, she crept in and stealthily moved over to Rocket's make-shift bed, where he was curled up in the far corner.

She carefully and slowly sat down on his bed, making sure the weight difference didn't make the bed tilt too much at one time.  
Once she was sure she had not woken him up, she carefully reached out and tentatively rested a hand on his furred shoulder. She realized with a start that he wasn't clothed. She saw a glint a metal in the near darkness on his shoulder, and decided to do him a curtesy by wrapping him up in the sheets before lifting him.

The task wasn't as hard as she had thought; he was already lying on top of a sheet, which meant she merely had to pick up the corners and throw them over Rocket's sleeping body, and then carefully navigate her hands underneath his small form to lift him onto her lap.  
He stirred once in her hold, but she ran a hand over his head once and he was silent once again.

She began to quietly hum to Rocket a song she had never forgotten. No matter how hard Thanos had tried to changer her, there was one thing he could never take away, and that was the particular song she was humming.  
Her mother sang it to her a young child whenever she was angry, frightened, or sad. It was something that her mother knew Gamora needed to make her feel better, even if it was just a little bit, and she knew that right now Rocket needed that sort of comfort, too.

She stared up at the ceiling as she hummed, closing her eyes and listening to her own voice sing the familiar melody. Before she knew it, she was silently crying to herself as she hummed, realizing that she was not only comforting Rocket, but herself as well.  
The last time she had heard this melody was when her mother was alive, and humming it out loud after so long was almost therapeutic.

When she looked down again, she realized that Rocket was awake, and staring up at her with unreadable eyes.  
Her humming died down slowly as Rocket shifted in her hold, and she let him sit up. He still had the sheet wrapped around his body, concealing his cybernetics. They looked at each other for a long while before he gave her a small nod and crawled back to the head of the bed and curled up. He didn't move after that.  
Gamora didn't leave for the next few minutes, but by the time Rocket opened his eyes an hour later to check the time, she was gone.

. . .

A few nights later, Gamora opened her eyes and gasped. She pulled the sheets around her tighter, suddenly feeling a cold chill run down her spine. She tried assured herself it was because she was wearing very little clothing, being only her bra and underwear.  
She felt warm tears rolling down her cheeks, and flashes of blood and her mother's fearful eyes ran through her mind, making her bite back a sob.  
She jumped when she felt a warm, fuzzy presence on her left side, and she pulled the sheets down a little to see Rocket, who was awake, but keeping eye contact to a minimum.

She slowly laid back down, and pulled the cover back over both of them. She took his presence as an unspoken 'thank-you' for when he had been in a similar situation, and soon fell asleep.

Both slept soundlessly for the rest of the night.


End file.
